


Let me have this dance

by TheMonster



Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Blackwall doesn't know he's crushing, Dancing, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Oblivious crush, Self-Indulgent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-16 03:48:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29569863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheMonster/pseuds/TheMonster
Summary: He was brought out of his thoughts when Iron Bull knocked on the doorframe. He looked up at the man, acknowledging the other. It was late in the evening and the merchants had packed away their stuff. The only other person nearby was Master Dennet, but he kept to himself and the mounts.Instead of greeting him, Bull seemed to get straight to the point.“Teach me how to dance.” He said, not really asking it but also not demanding it from him.
Relationships: Blackwall/The Iron Bull (Dragon Age)
Kudos: 7





	Let me have this dance

**Author's Note:**

> In which the ball at the Winter Palace is coming up and Bull need some dance-lessons.

He’d had trouble sleeping as of late, still hunted by the nightmares and terrors they encountered in the fade. He was distracting himself by carving wooden figures, but even that got tiresome after a while. 

He was brought out of his thoughts when Iron Bull knocked on the doorframe. He looked up at the man, acknowledging the other. It was late in the evening and the merchants had packed away their stuff. The only other person nearby was Master Dennet, but he kept to himself and the mounts.

Instead of greeting him, Bull seemed to get straight to the point.

“Teach me how to dance.” He said, not really asking it but also not demanding it from him.

“Pardon me?” Blackwall chuckled nervously.

“The ball in Halamshiral.” Bull continued, as if it was obvious.

“What of it?” Ah yes the ball. The Inquisitor had briefed him about it. He was supposed to be there, along with Iron Bull and Sera. Why she’d chosen to bring them and not Madame Vivienne or Dorian was beyond him, they were at least used to these kinds of gatherings. 

“I heard there’s going to be dancing involved. I don’t know how to dance.” Iron Bull said, staring down Blackwall with an intense gaze that shouldn’t have been so intimidating with only one working eye.

“So don’t dance then. I don’t see why it’s an issue?” Blackwall said as he turned around and continued his wood-carving, choosing not to look at Bull. He could feel the qunari staring at him and had opted not to return the favor.

“See, I said that to our dear Inquisitor and Josephine happened to overhear. She was not thrilled and lectured me about how important appearances are in The Game. I need to know the steps, in case some one miraculously wants to dance with me.”

Blackwall wasn’t sure that ‘miraculously’ was the right word here. Sure Bull was a qunari, but he also had really good physique and was moderately attractive. The game was dangerous. He had been lucky to never really be involved in it, but he had seen some consequences firsthand while serving in Orlais. He nearly dreaded coming to the Winter Palace and being surrounded by all nobles playing a game he undoubtedly would be a key piece for, and not even realizing if he was playing his part right.

“Then why won’t she teach you?” he asked the qunari, already knowing the answer before he asked the question. A lot of responsibilities had been laid on Josephine, since Cullen was worthless when it came to speak to nobles.

Iron Bull shrugged his shoulders, looking a bit disappointed.

“She’s too busy arranging everything for the Inquisition. I asked Vivienne, but she laughed at me and called me a ‘hopeless case’. She said she had seen me move on the battlefield and there wasn’t an ‘ounce of grace’ when I moved.”

“Why come to me then? How can you be so certain that I know the steps?” Blackwall had to ask. Surely others among the Inquisition could help. He’d heard that Harding planned dance lessons as soon as she could get the time. 

“I’m Ben-Hassrath and I know everything about everyone here. Also you literally waltzed with a training dummy in the bar one night while drunk off your ass.” Bull retorted and managed to wink with only one eye. Blackwall wondered how he did it so smoothly.

Blackwalls cheeks heated up at that comment, a brief memory of a bet he’d lost. It had been a fun night, though he had forgotten a lot of details of it, including dancing. But Bull was right, he did know a lot of the dances, not half-bad either.

“I need to at least know the basics so Josephine doesn’t murder me in front of any nobles. You can give me that at least. I’ll buy you drinks at the ball.”

He had no way to win this argument. He had lost the moment Bull decided he wanted dance lessons. Sure his moves were rusty and Bull would probably be the one to lead, but the moves would come to him naturally. It was similar to picking up a sword after years of not fighting.

Blackwall chuckled nervously.

“It seems as if I have no choice in the matter. Wouldn’t want to be thrown out from the ball just because of your dance moves.” The Game was… complicated. He hadn’t been a part of it or witnessed it for a long time, so he was unsure what it took to actually be offensive. Being bad at dancing could be one’s downfall.

“Great, I knew I could count on you. Alright, let’s start.”

Iron Bull gestured with his hands to the middle of the room.

“Wait, now?” Blackwall was not prepared to start now. Didn’t they need some kind of music, or a bit more privacy than the barn? There were no doors on either side, and anyone walking past could see them.

“Yes, now. No time to waste, I’m not the most gracious qunari. The ball is very soon, and I need all the help I can get.” Bull replied and took a step closer to the center.

“Alright, I guess you’re right.” Blackwall replied and took a step closer to Bull. He stopped in front of the other, who looked at him expectantly.

“What’s the first step?”

“Well, the first step to any dance is asking.”

“Alright. Is there a special way to ask or?”

“Well, normally you would walk up to the one you wanted to ask, make a small bow and extend your hand, and say ‘may I have this dance’.”

Bull nodded before bowing in front of him, and Blackwall had to take a step back to avoid his horns bumping into him.

“Oh whoops, I guess I need to keep a small distance.”

“No worries, but I guess a little more distance is appropriate.”

“Got it. Anyway, may I have this dance?”

“Uh, yes, you may.” Blackwall took a hold of Bull’s hand, and Bull stood up straight. However, he didn’t make a move. Blackwall awkwardly stood in the middle of the barn, and held Bull’s hand and neither of them said anything.

“Well, I don’t know the next step. How should I hold you?”

“Oh, of course. Well, I’m gonna teach you how to lead. So, you’ll want to put your hand here at my waist…” Blackwall took a hold of Bull’s other hand and led it to his waist.

“Then I’ll put my hand on your shoulder.”

“Is this good?” Bull asked once Blackwall took a hold of his hand again.

“Yes, that’s fine.”

“So what’s next? What’s the steps?”

Blackwall looked down to his feet and explained while shuffling his feet, suddenly feeling self-conscious about the qunari’s intense stare. Sure he might have wanted to learn, but now Blackwall felt awkward, noticing the weight and warmth of Bulls’ hands in his own and on his waist. However the other one didn’t seem to notice, focused on the warden’s words.

“Like this?” Bull asked, and pressed Blackwall backwards while taking a step forward. It wasn’t entirely wrong and he followed him in the step.

“Right, it’s a good start.” Vivienne had been right, there was nothing gracious about his steps, but technically he was doing alright. He could tell Bull was a quick learner, surprisingly, so there wouldn’t be too much trouble. At least he hadn’t stomped on his foot yet.

Blackwall glanced around the barn and when he couldn’t see anyone nearby he nodded to himself.

“Well then, let’s try again.” He said and straightened his back.

“Yes sir.” Bull replied and started to lead again, and though he was not really that used to it he let himself be led.

“And then you count to yourself, one-two-three, one-two-three.” Blackwall murmured and at once Bull’s tact became significantly better. As a soldier he was used to having a rhythm in his fighting style, it was the same in dancing. Well, at least those that Blackwall knew of.

After a while it seemed as if Bull really started to get the hang of it, and Blackwall just followed in the steps, finding himself relaxing a bit. It was a nice change of pace, not fighting something or having to wander through muck and mountains. Even if it was Bull leading him, who seemed a whole lot more confident now with every step, it was nice.

“Oh you’re giving him lessons? Nice!” a voice suddenly rang out and Blackwall quickly backed away from Bull in shock, while Bull stood unfazed. When they turned around they were met with the sight of Josephine and Leliana casually standing outside the barn, looking at them. Josephine looked proud while Leliana had an amused look on her face.

“Yes, Blackwall was free and could help me.” Bull shouted back with a smile.

“Excellent! Keep practicing a bit more and we don’t have to be worried about being thrown out.” Josephine exclaimed excitedly.

“At least when it comes to dancing. Our Inquisitor is already scandalous as she is. But you two looked cute dancing, so we might be able to turn some of them in our favor.” Leliana noted.

Blackwall felt his cheeks burn. He was embarrassed that someone saw them, and felt as if they were mocking them. It didn’t help that it had been years since he last danced in front of people. Maker, this ball was going to be really nerve-wrecking, wasn’t it?

“Haha, yeah, We’ll keep practicing, although I think we’re done for the day, right?” Bull said and turned his gaze toward Blackwall, who felt a bit relieved.

“Yeah, I think that will be enough for today. I think I’m just gonna go for a pint or something before I turn in. Ladies.” Blackwall couldn’t wait to get away from Josephine and Leliana’s eyes and after bowing to them he quickly walked past the two women. To his surprise, he heard Bull also say his goodbye and soon heard his step come closer to him. They walked in silence to the pub.

Bull was the first to break the silence.

“Sorry about that.”

“About what?” Blackwall asked as he opened the door, pretending nothing had happened.

“About asking for lessons today. I could have waited a day, and also we could have gone somewhere more private. I should have known you would be embarrassed to be seen dancing with a man.”

“Ah no. I wouldn’t have said yes unless it was fine. I was just caught off guard by them.”

“Still, it was insensitive of me. I’ll make it up to you.” Bull waved his hand at Cabot, who gave him the usual. “One more. Here, on me.” he said as he pushed the glass to Blackwall.

“Thanks.” Blackwall said, feeling a bit more relaxed now as he took a clunk of the drink, only to cough and spit it out teary-eyed.

“Maker’s breath, what is this?”

Bull laughed at him and took a clunk of his own.

“Don’t worry about it, just enjoy it.”

Blackwall didn’t want to press or be rude by throwing it away, especially when it had been bought for him. So he took another clunk, this time preparing himself for the burning sensation. He still couldn’t stop himself from coughing.

“So tell me, where does a warden learn how to dance? Is it standard training when you join?”

Bull had already downed his whole jug and was ordering another. How did he do it?

“Not really no. I had a life before the wardens. Learned how to fight, learned how to dance somewhere in between.”

“Is that so?” 

Blackwall solemnly took another chug of his glass, this time managing to swallow the liquid without any bigger problem. However, he was already starting to feel the effects of the alcohol.

“It’s not something I brag about. I joined the wardens to get away from my past, like many others.”

“Of course, the past is the past. We have other things that are more important. Like what nobles would actually ask me to a dance in the Winter Palace? Josephine must be crazy to think that anyone would want to be seen with a qunari.” Bull laughed out loud at that, as if that was one of the funniest jokes he’d ever heard.

Blackwall didn’t get the humor. Stuck up nobles would be lucky if Bull so much as looked at them with other interest than spying. He was wondering why he himself should bother practicing his dance. He was a nobody and he doubted he would get asked. The thought made him a little bit irritated, and he didn’t know if the alcohol had made it to his head too quickly or if he was just feeling pumped up.

“You know what? Screw being embarrassed. I know how to dance, I’m not ashamed of it. Let’s dance now!”

“Where is that coming from?”

“The nobles don’t know what they’re missing. We’re the Inquisition, a force to be reckoned with. They don’t want to dance with you? Their loss!”

“Shall we call it a night?”

“No, I want to dance. Now. With you.”

Blackwall stood up, feeling a slight sway in his movement, but felt surprisingly good about himself. He turned to Bull and stretched out his hand.

“Dance with me.”

He didn’t know where this confidence came from. The bar was relatively empty, with only unfamiliar faces surrounding them, so that might have helped a bit.

“Haha, fine.” Bull had a grin on his face and accepted the hand. The moment he got up he dragged the warden towards him and put his other hand on his waist and wasted no time to start. They caught some stares from the other patrons, but they soon grew bored of watching and turned around again.

Blackwall chuckled at him and followed in every step. Suddenly Bull let go of his waist and started to spin Blackwall around. He nearly fell over in surprise, but he couldn’t help but laugh at it. 

“What was that?” he managed to get out between laughs, and Bull started to lead him again properly.

Bull smirked at him.

“I’m improvising and testing things. Who knows, there might be more dances than the waltz.” 

“Well if that’s the case, I know maybe three more dances.” Blackwall replied in a nonchalant tone, but he was starting to get excited to teach them to Bull.

“I’ll perfect this dance first, but we should definitely practice more than one dance, right?”

“You’re damn right we should! Don’t want to embarrass our lady ambassador in front of the empress.”

They continued to dance for a while longer, the bartender sighing and shaking his head, and Maryden happily playing for them.

‘This is really nice.’ Blackwall thought, more than once.

\---

The events at the Winter Palace were… interesting. Blackwall had never been a big fan of politics, nor the game. Still, Sera had brightened his mood now and then and Bull had made him laugh all through the night. He had been impressed by Lavellan, who had managed to woo the whole court, despite everything against them.

In the end, Celene lived and Florianne had been stopped. He wasn’t sure if that was the best solution, but he decided that it wasn’t his decision either way.

The whole party had scattered around afterwards, Sera sneaking away to the balcony where Lavellan was, Josephine and Leliana somewhere in the Vestibule and Cullen Maker knew where.

He was looking for Bull in the crowd and was surprised when he couldn’t see the qunari. He was taller than the average and the horns really stood out, but he couldn’t see him. A tap on his shoulder made him jump in surprise and he turned his head. Bull had somehow sneaked up on him.

Bull cleared his throat and stretched out his hand.

“May I have this dance?”

Blackwall was a bit taken aback, but found himself unable to hide his smile. He took a quick look across the room to see if Josephine might be there to object. When he couldn’t see her he stood up.

“I don’t know if that is appropriate, Bull. What would the nobles say?”

“We have literally saved an empress tonight, Lavellan is on the balcony dancing with Sera, and I am a qunari in the Winter Palace. We are heros and were never appropriate to begin with.”

Iron Bull offered his hand to Blackwall, a genuine smile on his face.

“So, will you dance with me? I have watched some of the dances tonight and I picked up a few moves I want to try.”

Blackwall nodded his head and took Bull’s hand without hesitation, feeling giddy, like he did something against the rules. Who cared really? Like Bull said, it didn’t matter. The night was already filled with scandals, this might be one of the most trivial of them.

“Yes, I will dance with you.” He said with a big smile on his face. Bull’s own smile was equally big, and he started to lead.

“You’re a pretty good dancer, Bull.”

“Thanks, I had a great teacher.”

“There’s always room for improvement though…” Blackwall said with a wink and Bull laughed.

“There sure is. Tomorrow night?”

“Sounds lovely.”

Blackwall didn’t know when he started to enjoy dancing so much, but he suspected it wasn’t a matter of ‘when’ but ‘with who’.

**Author's Note:**

> No I don't have 500 hours in DA:I and is still shipping Blackwall/Iron Bull hard even if it's a rarepair.


End file.
